Open Dots

Open Dots is an open-source, self-hosted personal AI agent workspace for chat and tool use.

Open Dots is an open-source, self-hosted personal AI agent workspace designed for chat, tool use, approvals, connectors, and computer tasks. It brings model conversations, a governed action gateway, approval prompts, and an optional browser runtime into a single local-first application. Users can create assistant personas with separate instructions, model IDs, and visual identities. It supports streaming chat responses, rendering Markdown, attaching images, and dictating messages. It connects to models through an inference adapter, integrates with Composio for app connections, and includes a web search feature via You.com. State is kept in SQLite and provider credentials are encrypted at rest.

Open Dots at a glance

Best for: Software engineer, Founder
Runs on: Web, self-hosted, open source
Pricing: Free and open source under the MIT license.
Released: May 2023
Category: AI agent tool
Website: github.com/Anil-matcha/open-dots

Key features

Create assistant personas with separate instructions and models
Stream chat responses and persist conversations locally
Connect to models through the included inference adapter
Governed action gateway for workspace reads, writes, and computer actions
Explicit approval prompts for higher-risk actions with audit events
Connect apps through Composio with OAuth
Web search from chat using the /search command
Optional bot-scoped Docker/Playwright computer runtime

Use it for

Chat with AI assistants using configured model catalogs
Perform governed workspace reads and writes
Execute computer tasks with explicit approval prompts
Search the web from chat for current information

Companions

Tools that articles about Open Dots recommend using with it, each with its job.

Ollama — Run local models at zero marginal cost, with code kept on your machine.
Context7 — Provides up-to-date documentation for AI agents and code editors.
OpenRouter — Access over 500 models and 80 providers through one unified API.
Daytona — Runs sessions in isolated sandboxes synced to git branches.
Composio — Equips AI agents with tools, managed user auth, and sandboxes across 1,500+ apps
Oh My OpenCode Slim — Lightweight multi-agent orchestration and background tasks.

Alternatives to Open Dots

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OpenCode — Works with 75+ model providers, local models, and existing subscriptions
Open WebUI — Run AI on your own terms with complete data privacy and self-hosting control.
OpenBot — Runs AI agents locally using existing subscriptions or local models.
OpenCharm — It gives your existing AI agent a physical or desktop face, voice, and dedicated key.
Dot2api — Queues requests and wakes up your Dot to answer securely over MCP.
OpenAgents — A shared workspace for humans and AI agents with multi-device sync.
OpenChamber — Run and review multi-model AI coding agents from desktop, browser, and mobile devices.
Open Interface — It uses visual screenshots to self-correct its actions while navigating GUIs.
Comma — It operates 24/7 on a cloud computer to finish tasks independently.
OpenViking — Unifies agent memory, knowledge RAG, and skills into a single directory structure.

All Open Dots alternatives